The Snow Trapper
by Irish-Ninja
Summary: The SSX crew has been invited to a party high atop peak three, little do they know that their night of fun will quickly become a living Hell. I recommend reading my other fic, Psymon's Secret, before reading this. Chapters 11 & 12 are finally up.
1. Chapter 1

The Snow Trapper  
I do not own any SSX characters or places, they are copyright EA Big

* * *

The SSX crew has been invited to a party at the chalet high atop peak three, little do they know that their evening there will quickly change from a night of good times to a living nightmare.

* * *

This is not a direct sequel of my previous SSX story 'Psymon's Secret', but it is going to maintain character consistency. If you have not yet read my other fic, please do so or you may wonder what I've done to the characters.

Chapter 1: Let's get this party started  
The sun was just beginning to set as the last transport stopped at the station atop peak three. Several SSX superstars filed out of the station and began to hike their way up the walkway to the chalet. They all held in their hands an envelope which inside contained an invitation to a party that was to be held at the chalet that evening, hosted by none other than DJ Atomika. Amongst the boarders was Psymon and Zoe, they had just returned from Alberta a few weeks ago, feeling ready to move on with their lives after having time to catch up on the lost years since Psymon's first accident.  
"I wonder why he didn't just send us the invites on our M-comms." Psymon said while they approached the front door. Zoe looked up at him and shrugged.  
"Maybe his is broken?" Psymon nodded and they let it be, the topic was more just idle chitchat instead of actual interest. They walked through the front door and kicked off their boots. Psymon took Zoe's jacket and hung it up next to his hoodie on a peg in the wall. They followed the sounds of laughter towards the main sitting room. As they walked down the hallway they passed a familiar character. Moby Jones walked in their direction, accompanied by Marisol Delgado, his new ornament since he and Zoe broke it off. Psymon took Zoe's arm and moved her onto his other side, so that he stayed between her and Moby. The former allies stared each other down as they passed in the hall, not breaking eye contact until they passed one another completely.  
"It bugs you to see him with her, doesn't it?" Psymon asked her calmly, still facing the direction they were walking. Zoe sighed and shrugged.  
"No, I guess, I don't know, whatever. Look he's not my problem anymore, if that tramp wants to be his possession then I'm fine with that, not my problem." Psymon put his arm around his younger sister and squeezed her shoulder.  
"Sorry I brought it up." Zoe looked up at him with her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs playfully with a light smile. They walked into the sitting room and were greeted with waves and a few welcoming calls. They plopped down into one of the leather sofas and made themselves comfortable. Zoe looked across the room at a couch that faced them. Elise sat there and stared at Psymon, then she made eye contact with Zoe, then looked away. Zoe wondered to herself what that was about, but let it go. Her focus was broken as Griff suddenly ran at full speed into Psymon, who sat next to her. She jumped as the laughing pre-teen was almost immediately held upside down by his ankle in Psymon's hand. Zoe chuckled with everyone else while Psymon flipped Griff back onto his feet, but she kept making eye contact with Elise, it seemed like she had something to say to Zoe or Psymon.  
"So, where's Atomika at?" Mac spoke up over the commotion, sitting comfortably in a leather recliner with Kaori snugly in his lap.  
"Yeah, where is that cat?" Viggo seconded between sips of his cooler.

The evening moved on, and the SSX crew had moved the party out to the back patio. It was nearing nine o'clock and there was still no sign of Atomika. The boarders lounged about, some danced, others joked and talked, others indulged in a few drinks, everyone was having a good time. As soon as nine o'clock hit they suddenly heard loud, bassy techno music echo through the peak of the mountain. The music off in the distance was so loud that it drowned out their stereo that was only feet away. Soon a rumbling sound grew louder and the patio began to shake. Griff's eyes widened as he looked up the mountain.  
"Avalanche!" he shrieked. Everyone grabbed whatever was close by and ran inside the chalet. The stampeding snow slammed into the patio and sent patio furniture flying down the mountainside. Not everyone made it in before the avalanche hit, and several boarders had to be pulled in through the deep snow. Once the last person was in they slammed the sliding door closed and locked it. The snow had covered all but the top foot of the doorway, making it impossible to get in or out through that door. Everyone sat in the hall and tried to calm down, they were all rightfully shaken up. The ones that didn't make it in before the snow hit were quickly wrapped in blankets to get them warmed up. Elise was the first to regain her composure and she addressed the crew.  
"Okay, I think we all made it, but let's take a headcount just to make sure." Everyone gathered near while Elise made sure everyone was accounted for. Mac went pale as he realized Kaori was nowhere to be seen.  
"Oh no, Kaori! She didn't make it in! She's still out there!" Mac began to panic as he looked out the window. The avalanche had swallowed the lower half of the chalet, knocked down the ski lift tower and totally wiped out the transport station. "Oh man, where is she? She could be anywhere out there!" Brody and Allegra went to him to try and calm him down. Luther was also missing from the group, but Eddie quickly mentioned that Luther had gone to the washroom to get a towel to dry himself from the melted snow that engulfed him moments before.  
"Okay, so that leaves Kaori unaccounted for." Elise said, trying to maintain as much control as possible amongst the boarders. "No one saw her come in?" Everyone shook their heads to say 'no'.  
"She was dancing on the far railing when the snow hit, for all we know the impact could have sent her down the whole mountain." Zoe said seriously, Mac sat on the floor and shook his head. Suddenly a loud pop echoed through the chalet, coming from the other end and startling the already shaken boarders.  
"The hell was that?" Elise yelped after a small jump. Eddie stood and walked down the hall.  
"Maybe Luther fell or something, I'll go check on him." Eddie casually strolled towards the far bathroom, trying hard to not look shaken up. The crew began to devise a plan on how to locate Kaori when they heard Eddie scream.

* * *

Chapter one is said and done. What scared Eddie? Who's music triggered the avalanche? What will become of Kaori? Where the heck is Atomika? Read on to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

I own nothing in this story, all characters and places are property of EA Big

* * *

Chapter 2: The nightmare begins  
The crew all ran towards Eddie's scream and rounded the corner of the hall. Eddie sat against the wall, eyes huge and his face pale. He sputtered for words but couldn't do it, he simply pointed towards the door of the washroom. Psymon approached the door and gently pushed it open. He quickly looked away and fought back the nauseous sensation that shot throw his throat. Zoe peeked around him and also looked away quickly.  
"Oh my God!" she screeched as she ran towards the next washroom, unable to battle back the gag reflex. Psymon looked back down at Luther who laid face down in a large red pool that covered his hair and face. He shuddered and looked away again, but forced himself to investigate.  
"What's going on?" Griff asked loudly as he pushed his way through the boarders that still stood outside.  
"Griff, no!" Psymon shouted before the child could enter the bathroom. Nate grabbed him and held him from the door.  
"Come on, what's in there?" Griff said angrily, Nate took Griff into the next room. Psymon knelt next to Luther and touched his neck. He gagged but still held his lunch down as his fingers touched the clammy skin, the body was still warm, but the pulse was gone. J.P. hesitantly joined Psymon and checked over Luther. They looked at each other, and without a word they rolled Luther onto his back. Through the crimson mask of blood on Luther's face, there was a small round bullet wound in Luther's forehead, just above his left eye. J.P. faced away and vomited from the sight, which made it that much harder for Psymon to remain focused on not doing so as well. They both had finally had enough and had to leave the room. Both men shook violently as they joined everyone else back in the hall. They both gagged for words for several seconds until finally J.P. was able to leak a few words.  
"Luther's dead... he was shot." Everyone already had guessed what had happened, but the grim news still made everyone nervous. Psymon and J.P. quickly walked to a couch in the next room to sit before they fainted from the anxiety. Everyone else flooded into the room and tried to remain calm. The room was silent for many minutes until Psymon broke the silence.  
"Okay, Kaori is still unaccounted for." He tried to calm the group since Elise now had lost control of herself with panic. "I'm going to go out there and look for her, I've already dealt with one corpse tonight, I may as well risk finding a second." Everyone shuddered or shook continuously. "No one leave this room, everyone must stay together in a large group, whoever did this to Luther won't attack all of us." Eddie agreed once he regained his composure.  
"Good call, man. We all have to stay together. We'll camp out in this room, and if anyone, for any reason, has to leave, they go in small groups-"  
"No, just stay together, everyone." Psymon insisted, the anxiety in his voice made him almost sound like Stark. "Just, everyone stay here, when we get back from looking for Kaori we'll figure out what to do next." He stood up slowly and tried to fight the shakes in his hands and legs. "Let's go, Mac." Mac looked up in terror.  
"Me?! I ain't going out there man!" Everyone looked at Mac with a little shock.  
"Mac, it's your girlfriend out there." Nate scolded, Mac still wouldn't budge.  
"Someone in here is a killer, given Psymon's track record, it wouldn't surprise me if it's him. I ain't going ANYWHERE alone with him, I'm staying right here." Zoe now got in Mac's face.  
"Mac, will you get over it already?! That was a long time ago, and even if Stark WAS nuts, he was not a killer." Psymon calmed Zoe and sat her down, he'd grown used to be accused of being responsible for when things went wrong.  
"Fine, Mac you stay here and whimper like a little bitch, I'll go find your girlfriend." Psymon glared down at Mac with a disappointed look as he made his way for the door. Moby quickly broke Marisol's hold of him and stood up.  
"I'll go with you." Psymon paused and looked into Moby's dark sunglasses. Moby pulled them off so he and Psymon could look eye to eye. "I'll go with you." Psymon nodded and the entire crew went with them to the front door. Psymon pulled on his hoodie while Moby zipped up his puffy coat.  
"We'll have to be quick." Psymon began. "She isn't dressed to be out in that cold for too long, Hell, neither are we." Moby nodded at Psymon's comment. No one was in proper snow attire for the party. The guys mostly wore standard jeans and light shirts, while the ladies mostly donned thin, tight pants or skirts, and none of the ladies wore shirts that covered their arms. Moby and Psymon would definitely feel the cold as they to wore simply jeans, Moby a tight Tshirt and Psymon a black tanktop. They pulled open the door and stared into a wall of snow.  
"Well, that kinda puts a monkey wrench in our plans." Psymon pushed into the snow, it wasn't too firm, but it would still be impossible to get out.  
"Are there windows upstairs?" J.P. asked. The crew made their way upstairs and found a bedroom where the snow was only halfway up the window.  
"We can crawl out that." Moby said confidently. They pushed the window open and a flood of snow piled at the base of the window. Psymon looked up to see the sky lit up with pinks, purples and light blues, a freak blizzard had occurred and was throwing sheets of snow through the air.  
"Perfect, that's all we need." Psymon grumbled. He didn't worry too much as each chalet had a bright green light that shone on the roof, allowing lost boarders to find the chalet in the dark or during a storm such as this. "Okay, we'll be back soon." Psymon told the group as he and Moby climbed out the window and waded through the snow. "Stay together, and take care of each other."

* * *

So, is anyone else getting the feeling that this is a trap? Who did in Luther? Who will be the next victim? Can Psymon and Moby co-exist to find Kaori? Keep reading and the answers will be told! 


	3. Chapter 3

EA Big owns all the characters and places in this story, I own squat

* * *

Chapter 3: Things just keep getting worse  
Psymon and Moby stood in the snow several feet over the buried patio.  
"Okay, the avalanche traveled in this direction." Psymon thought out loud, pointing down the mountain and slightly to the left. "So the impact would have carried her that way. Let's start heading that way and hope for the best, as long as she isn't buried we stand a chance at finding her." Moby nodded as he shook from the cold and they began their trek.  
The crew left the window open for Moby and Psymon to return. Elise flipped open her M-comm and tried to radio for help.  
"Why didn't I think of this before?" she scolded herself, trying to lighten the mood. She typed a message to the ski patrol, but kept getting a send error.  
"It's the storm." Eddie said with a sigh. "It's interfering with our connection, damn wireless network." Elise began to panic now and desperately continued to attempt to send the message, each time it was answered with the send error. Eddie sat Elise down on the bed and told her to give up trying. "Look, calm down. We're going to be okay as long as we all stay together. The storm can only last so long, we have food, we have facilities and we have each other, we're going to be fine. Just calm down, check your Email or something." Elise nodded and tried to take her mind off their situation by checking her inbox. She looked curiously at her small screen.  
"Hey, there's some messages from Atomika." She opened the Email. "It's a mass one, he sent it to all of us." She began to read it out loud. "Attention SSX Superstars: there is a severe storm warning that just went out, we are advising that all of you stay in your lodges and do not go onto any of the peaks tonight." Elise looked up at the group, they all stared back in confusion. "It's from a little after noon today." She scrolled to the next message, it to was a mass Email. "Attention SSX Superstars: I hope you got my last message about the storm. I have called your lodges, but no one has been answering. Where are you guys? Please contact me immediately." Elise now shook again as she read the newest one that was received only a few hours ago. "Where the hell are you guys? Contact me ASAP when you receive this message. We hope none of you are out in the impending storm. If so, go to the nearest chalet and stay there. As for the rest of you, whichever peak you are on, report to the nearest chalet at once and do not leave. Transport lines will likely be down from the storm, and weather conditions prohibit air pickup. Whichever chalet you are at, stay there and do not leave, rescue teams will be stopping at all chalets as soon as this storm passes. Once you have come back to your lodge report in immediately." Elise closed her M-comm and shook her head. "This doesn't make sense, he knows we're here for his party." Brody shook his head and sighed.  
"No he doesn't, he's not here... he didn't know there WAS a party. Someone else, without an M-comm, must have sent those invitations." Brody was alarmingly calm as he spoke.  
"And do you think whoever brought us all here is responsible for what happened to Luther?" Zoe said, shaking from the draft that came through the window. No one spoke, but the general consensus of the room was an agreement. Everyone sat or stood quietly in the room as it all sank in. Elise grabbed the nearby phone off the night table and held it to her ear.  
"It's dead, isn't it?" Brody said, still maintaining a calm demeanor. Elise nodded and hung it up. "Likely the first thing whoever is doing this took care of, anyone who's seen a horror flick knows to cut the phone lines." Some of the group tried to chuckle to ease the mood, but the fear grew more and more throughout the room. There they were, on top of a mountain with no form of transportation or communication to the outside world, and someone gathered them possibly with the intention of causing them harm. Silence filled the room for a few more moments, then a muffled clang startled them all, the clang rang out again, then again. On the fourth noise the lights went out. Screams filled the room and most of the crew could no longer put up a brave front. Viggo pulled out a lighter to give them a little light.  
"Okay, whoever's doing this is really pissing me off." Nate growled in a combination of anger and terror. Griff tried to fight back his tears but it was too much for the youngster. Allegra knelt next to him and hugged him and didn't let go, trying to comfort him and also pacify the terror that filled her own heart. Viggo searched around the room with his lighter, opening drawers and cupboards until the beam of a flashlight shone in the room.  
"Well, at least we have this." Viggo said, trying to ease everyone's minds. Nate grabbed it from Viggo.  
"The noise came from downstairs, then the power went out, I'll bet he's messed with the fuse box. Someone come with me, I'm going to check it out." No one volunteered. "Look people, I can probably fix whatever happened to it and get some light and heat back in here, but I am not going alone." Silence still filled the room.  
"Let's go." Brody finally said. Immediately J.P. and Viggo also volunteered their services. The foursome left the room, flashlight in hand. The door quickly was closed and locked behind them. They four men looked down the stairs and shone the light down them.  
"See anything?" Viggo asked, peeking from behind Nate's shoulder. Nate shook his head. They all still stood at the top of the stairs, no one moved. "Well, go on." Viggo urged the other three. Brody sighed and grabbed the flashlight.  
"I'll go first, I've lived a good life." He took one step down and looked over his shoulder to see Viggo at the back of the group. "I'd rather be first anyways, at least I'll see someone coming at me, unlike in the back where someone could grab you out of the shadows." Viggo's stomach turned immediately as Brody smiled smugly to himself.  
"Oh you son of a bitch. That's real funny, ha ha." They managed to safely find the furnace room in the basement and stared at the door. Nate grabbed a shovel from the corner and nodded to Brody to open the door. Brody quickly and quietly pulled it open and shone the light into the small room. Nate held the shovel up like a weapon, but found no one inside. The four slowly walked into the room and investigated the fuse box. Everything was in order, nothing was broken or removed. Nate looked at the power switch and found their problem. The switch box had been smashed open and a few wires were ripped and jumbled in a messy fashion. Nate examined the mess of wires and rubbed his chin.  
"Whoever did this did a rush job, probably knew we would be coming once we heard him, looks like he just tried to pull the wires out. Nothing really too badly damaged, just a few messy frays and a couple broken wires."  
"Can you fix it?" Brody asked back. Nate nodded.  
"Yeah, find me some electrical tape and I can probably fix this mess within the hour. Look for a toolbox, there will probably be some tape in there."  
  
Psymon and Moby pushed on through the harsh wind and snow when they noticed the green light that shone on the snow from behind them went out. They both looked over their shoulders to see the dark sky and no light. Psymon looked down and shook his head.  
"Great, just great, what else could possibly go wrong?" He said as he kept walking, Moby still stood behind him. "Come on Moby, we have to keep looking for-" He looked over his shoulder to see Moby holding a gun pointed directly at him. "You have got to be kidding me." Psymon said with a sigh and a defeated head shake. "YOU killed Luther?" Moby shook his head.  
"Nah, it's a shame what 'appened to Luther, but purely coincidental I assure you, my beef is with you." Psymon looked at Moby through the sheets of snow that blew through them.  
"So what is it now? You're going to shoot me, go back and think that no one will ever know?" Moby held out the gun now at arm's length.  
"I'll tell them that we got separated, it will take days to find you if I leave you out here with this snowfall." Psymon still stared calmly at Moby.  
"You're an idiot, you know that right?" Moby cocked the pistol. "Seriously. When they do find my body, they will find the bullet hole. Once it is established who I was last seen with, they will check our records, and I know our encounters are on SSX file. So they will know we dislike one another, once they realize you killed me, they will undoubtedly suspect you were also who shot Luther, are you ready to face two life sentences just because we have a problem?" Moby stared at Psymon for several moments with a frustrated look on his face. Finally he clicked the safety back on and shoved the pistol into his inner pocket of his coat. "Another night Moby, now let's find Kaori, or did you only come with me to waste me?" Moby trudged back to the chalet.  
"Find 'er yourself!" Moby disappeared into the storm, leaving Psymon alone.  
"Alright Kaori, where are you?"

* * *

Things are picking up rather quickly. Can Psymon believe that Moby was in no way connected to Luther's death? What will happen when Moby gets back to the chalet? Can Nate and the guys get the power back on before they to become a victim of the lunatic that's playing this game with them? And will Psymon find Kaori and bring her back, or will the freezing climate be too much? The story continues.


	4. Chapter 4

EA Big owns everything, everyone, and half of my paycheque.  
In regards to out of character-ness, as previously stated: please read my other fic, Psymon's Secret before reading any further here. That way it will save you being confused, and will save me crying from the nasty emails ;)

* * *

Chapter 4: Lights, action  
Nate fiddled with the wires for several minutes, grunting and cursing occasionally. Brody held the flashlight for him while JP stood facing the darkness, armed with the shovel. Viggo sat by Nate's side and held a pair of pliers and the tape.  
"Okay, that should be it, try it." Nate said as he slammed the switch box closed. Brody reached up and pulled up the power switch. The lights came on and the furnace roared to life. The four men all cheered to themselves and celebrated with a few high fives and slaps on the back. They quickly made their way back upstairs and knocked on the door where everyone else was locked inside.  
"It's us." Viggo declared. The door opened, the four men quickly slid in and locked the door behind them again. Nate was greeted with handshakes, high fives and hugs as everyone was grateful for him fixing the power.  
"Whoever's doing this could have made a move while the lights were out, unless he hoped we would freeze to death without the heat on. Either way he may or may not be still in the chalet, I suggest we still stay in groups just to be safe." It was nearing eleven o'clock when Moby slid in through the window, a trail of snow followed him. His cheeks were bright and his nose ran as he rubbed his hands together in the warm room.  
"Where's Psymon?" Zoe said sternly, insinuating something happened to him.  
"The dumb bastard's too stupid to know when to quit, it's too damn cold out there for 'er to still be alive." Mac stood up and got in Moby's face.  
"That's my girlfriend you're talking about!"  
"And what did you do for 'er? Nothing. She's dead, mate, just accept it. No one can live out there that long in that weather. Not that you would care anyways, or you woulda been out there with us instead of sitting here with your thumb up your arse." Mac sank back down into a chair and stared at the floor quietly. Another awkward silence filled the room. Marisol offered to take Moby's coat, but he pushed her away, wanting to ensure no one found his pistol.  
"I still need it, love, it's quite cold out there." Elise finally spoke up again.  
"Okay, here's what we need to do, first off-"  
"Why do we NEED to do what you say?" Allegra interrupted, her anxiety was starting to show through. "Since the moment the avalanche hit, you've been giving us orders every minute, but they accomplish nothing, why do we need to listen to you?" Elise put her hands on her hips and leaned into Allegra's face.  
"Because I'm the franchise, little girl. I'm the top cat in SSX and what I say goes."  
"It's not about SSX right now, princess, this is the real world now. The only people who have accomplished anything so far tonight has been Brody, Nate and J.P.-"  
"And Viggo who found the flashlight." Viggo interrupted.  
"Shut up." Allegra replied. "You sitting here giving us stupid orders isn't going to save us from this, why don't you just sit down, shut up, and let the people who have been keeping us alive all night call the shots?" Elise went to reply but Zoe pushed herself in between them.  
"Stop it, shut up! Seriously." Zoe was exasperated. "Someone get Britney and Avril out of here before they kill each other." Eddie took Elise and sat her down on one side of the room while Griff tugged Allerga to sit on the other side. "Okay, we're all really high strung right now, and I don't blame anyone for losing control but we can't do this right now. There may or may not be some nut in this chalet who's trying to kill us, and if he is still here we need to be working together. There are people in here who I don't like either but it's not about that right now, like it or not we're all in this together." Some of the boarders nodded silently at Zoe's speech. "Look, we're all really stressed out right now, I think it be best that we break into groups and try to get at least a little rest. Sleep in shifts, if you can." More boarders agreed that some sleep would do them good, not that many of them could sleep if they tried. "There are enough rooms for everyone, but let's at least pair up, three up would be even better." She looked out the window. "I'm not leaving this room until Psymon gets back, so I'll sleep here. The rest of you, group up and find a room and try to get some rest. Leave your doors locked, but keep your ears open for someone if they are in trouble. And poor Luther's body isn't going to get any better in that heated bathroom. Guys, could you maybe take his body out and put it in the snow, at least to keep it somewhat preserved until help comes?" Nate, J.P., Viggo and Brody all looked hesitant, but agreed to lay their friend to rest in the snow, they couldn't let him just lay there in the bathroom. 

The boarders quickly grouped up and went to different rooms, locking their doors behind them. Elise stayed in the room with Zoe and began to search through the drawers for an old pair of pajamas or something.  
"I am not sleeping in this outfit, it was well over a thousand dollars." Zoe looked over Elise's knee length black heeled leather boots, the short black stretchy skirt and tight black tanktop with the see-through black blouse.  
"A thousand?" Zoe asked critically. Elise eyed her from over her shoulder.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" she pried, Zoe shrugged.  
"I never thought it would cost so much to look so cheap." Elise slammed the drawer that she was looking through shut and fumbled for words.  
"THIS is not cheap! THIS is an Italian original, even the underwear matches!" Zoe rolled her eyes.  
"Yes I know it all matches, we all do! Your ass has been hanging out of that skirt for half the night." Elise looked desperate for words to tell Zoe off with, but nothing came to mind. She couldn't make fun of Zoe's clothes because Zoe was perfectly fine with jeans and a tanktop regardless of who thought otherwise. Elise just shook her head and banged on the wall.  
"Does any guy in there have a shirt I could borrow to sleep in?" Almost immediately nearly every guy in the chalet stood at her door with their shirt in their hands, offering it to Elise. She paused for a moment from the immediate response and took Nate's Tshirt since it was the largest. She closed the door behind them and clicked it locked. She looked down at the shirt, then at herself, then at the floor. She looked back up at Zoe and looked like she'd just been let in on a cruel joke.  
"All night, you said?" Zoe smirked.  
"Only half the night, but the guys have had a good show either way."

Mac sat at the foot of the bed while Allegra wondered if it was okay for her to undress for bed.  
"Are you alright?" she finally asked quietly. Mac nodded and looked down at the floor, looking up at Allegra with his eyes now and then.  
"I just can't believe she's gone." he said softly. Allegra sat next to him and looked at him with a sympathetic face. He put his hand on her hand that she had resting on her knee. "I'm just so confused by it all." Allegra didn't know how to react, so she just kept listening. "This whole thing, it's going to change my entire life, not just right now but for the long run." He slid his hand off hers and onto her inner thigh. "Not to mention that it's probably going to leave me very vulnerable and easy to take advantage of for a long time until I get over it." He continued to let his hand slide up her thigh until it could go no higher. "Hell, we could die tonight for all we know. Don't you hate that, not knowing? Wondering if this is it? Wondering if you will ever have a chance to live again, to love again?" He squeezed and Allegra's eyes widened but lit up at the same time, she did find Mac attractive, but wasn't sure if this was right. He faced her and kissed her forcefully. She returned it, still unsure whether to say no, or to let him vent his frustration. Within moments they were ripping clothes off each other and turning off the bedside lamp.

Psymon tilted his head downwards to try and keep too much snow from blowing into his face.  
"Kaori!" he called into the storm the same way he had for what seemed like hours now. He was quite far from the chalet, but the green light had come back on and shone dimly in the distance. He kept forcing his way through the snow until he came to one of peak three's many cliffs. He saw the run-off from the avalanche far below in the quarry and he sighed. "Damn it." he whispered, looking down at the tons of powder in the quarry. "Kaori!" he called one last time into the quarry, knowing he would hear nothing, but still hoping. A weak voice faintly echoed through the night.  
"Here! I'm here!" Psymon snapped to attention and ran to his right, where the voice came from.  
"Kaori! Where are you?" he called loudly, though he was starting to lose his voice.  
"Here!" she called back. Her voice was weak, she had to have been exhausted from being out in the blizzard for so long.  
"Keep talking! I'm coming!" He needed to keep following her voice since he could barely see in front of him. She weakly sang to keep a constant sound through the storm until finally Psymon found the ledge where she was. He knelt at the ridge and saw her on a small ledge about eight feet below him. She huddled herself into a small ball, trying to keep any warmth left in her body. She shuddered violently from the freezing wind. Psymon looked at the ledge, he could slide down and get her, but he had no idea how he could get back up. He leaned downward and called to her. "Kaori. Kaori I need you to look up at me." Kaori was frozen stiff, she kept her face buried in her huddled body. "Kaori I know it hurts but I need you to look up, I need you to help me if I'm going to help you." Kaori weakly lifted her head and looked up at Psymon. Her eyes could barely focus on him, but she recognized him and looked uneasy. Psymon reached out towards her, sticking his long arm out as far as he could without him falling over the ridge himself. Kaori still stared up at him, unsure to take his hand. "Kaori, take my hand, I can't go down there and come back up." Kaori still stared up at him, she was afraid and didn't know what choice to make. "Kaori I didn't come all this way to leave without you, give me your hand!" She put her face back down into her legs and shivered. "Kaori... Kaori I know I've done some awful things to you in the past, but if you never trust me again, please trust me now." She forced her tired body to slowly stand and she reached up towards Psymon. He grabbed her bicep with his one hand, then her other with his other hand. He pushed himself up to his feet and put his arms around Kaori's waist once she was high enough over the ridge. He quickly took his sweater off and wrapped it around her frozen shoulders and zipped it up. Her tight black flared pants and thin pink sweater only kept her warm because they held her body heat in due to their tightness, but otherwise she was frozen to the bone; the alcohol in her system also likely helped keep her thawed out. She chattered her teeth through blue lips and some frozen tears had been on her cheeks since Psymon found her. "It's okay." he calmly spoke to her, holding her up, both to help her walk and to transfer some of his body heat to her. "You're okay now, let's get you to the chalet and get you warmed up." She still chattered and shivered.  
"Where's Mac? Why didn't he come?" she finally managed to squeak out. Psymon said nothing for a few seconds while they trudged through the knee deep snow.  
"Let's just worry about getting you back to the chalet and warming you up." Kaori nodded while hiding her face in between his arm and chest, she was so weak she could barely walk. "What was that song you were singing? Keep singing for me." Kaori looked up with exhausted eyes.  
"Sing?"  
"Yeah, sing, tell jokes, tell me a story about your childhood, just keep talking." Kaori hesitated then began singing a melody in Japanese. Psymon listened closely, but focused on the pale green light that stood an hour away, he just had Kaori sing to keep him knowing she was alright.

* * *

She's alive! That oughta give her some credibility that's she's at least a little tougher than we all thought. What's going to happen when Kaori gets back to the chalet? What's Mac going to do when he realizes she's alive? And is the crew safe yet from whoever this maniac is that's doing this to them? All this and more, next chapter. 


	5. Chapter 5

EA Big owns all this stuff, I own nothing

* * *

Chapter 5: Busted and another body  
Zoe was startled out of her light sleep when she saw Psymon slide in through the window with a trembling Kaori in his arms. She ran to them and quickly wrapped a blanket around Kaori. Kaori was too tired to even say 'thank you' to Zoe. They took her out of the room and walked her to Mac's room. Psymon reached out and turned the knob of the door. He and Zoe looked at each other with startled eyes, the door was not supposed to be unlocked. Psymon cracked his knuckles a few times and balled his hands into fists and nodded to Zoe. They both quickly kicked the door and flicked on the lights, Psymon with fists up. Mac and Allegra both cursed loudly as they were caught unclothed together. Psymon and Zoe both looked shocked at the naked pair, who were equally embarrassed. Kaori lifted her head to see Mac scrambling for his pants, but she figured out quickly enough what had been going on. Kaori glared madly at Mac and shook her head, mouthing several curses in Japanese. Then she looked at Allegra, glared even more angrily at her and even managed to lift her arm to point at her.  
"Slut!" she shouted in plain English, trying to attack Allegra but barely having the strength to walk. Zoe quickly took Kaori back to their room while Psymon stood in the doorway, shaking his head. Mac knew he was in the wrong, but couldn't allow his ego to falter.  
"What? I didn't know she was still alive." Psymon shook his head and closed the door, walking back to Zoe's room. Mac and Allegra sat in stunned silence, he then looked at her and sneered.  
"If Kaori doesn't take me back, I will never forgive you."

Psymon walked into the room and closed the door. Kaori shuddered under the blankets as Elise held her close. Psymon raised an eyebrow but said nothing.  
"It's to bring her body temperature up, nothing more." Zoe said, slapping his arm. Psymon smirked and raised his hands without speaking. Zoe looked at him. "How are you doing?" She touched his bare arm and looked at him with concern. "You're freezing."  
"I'm fine." He was weak vocally now, and frost still lined the tips of his spiked hair. His face and arms were bright pink and red in several spots and his lips were a pale grey.  
"No, you're not." Zoe said sternly to him. Elise looked up at them and then looked solely at Psymon.  
"Psymon, you were out there in a tanktop, get in here. Kaori's warming up, it will help her to get your heat up to." Psymon looked down at Elise.  
"I had a sweater on."  
"That you gave to Kaori, you were out there for a long time without a sweater, you need to warm up. Hypothermia isn't funny." Psymon sighed and looked at Zoe, she begrudgingly nodded.  
"Do it." she said one more time, still stern.  
"Where will you sleep?"  
"I'll sleep in Seeiah's room, I don't think anyone else is in there." Psymon still looked at her with uncertainty.  
"Do it, it's okay." Zoe smacked her brother on the chest and walked out of the room. Psymon looked down at Elise. Kaori was fast asleep, and Elise looked up at him with suggestive eyes.  
"My offer from that night at the bar still stands." Psymon paused in removing his shirt.  
"Elise, is this to get Kaori warmed up, or a hope that I'll change my mind? I told you before, now is not a good time for me to be in a relationship." Psymon reminded, Elise raised an eyebrow and sat up, displaying a skimpy bra and small underwear.  
"Come on, how can you say 'no' to two beautiful young ladies like Kaori and myself?"  
"Kaori's asleep, not expecting some kinky encounter."  
"What difference does it make, it will still look damn good when word gets around you were in bed with both of us."  
"We've been over this, Elise."  
"How long are you going to put your life on hold to play big brother? Don't you think Zoe wants you to be happy?" Psymon released his shirt and let it fall back over his abs and was about to retort. The mood was broken as the sound of Zoe screaming alerted everyone. Psymon shot out of the room and didn't even bother to close the door behind him. He ran through the open door of the room as Zoe stood there with tears running down her face and her hands cupped over her mouth. Seeiah laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling with lifeless eyes. Other boarders ran into the room, some taking longer than others to make themselves decent. Zoe buried her face into Psymon's chest and sobbed into his shirt. He put his cold arms around his little sister and tried to comfort her. Brodi cautiously approached the body and investigated. Her hands were bound behind her back with a detachable electrical cord that seemed to belong to a portable stereo. He put his ear to her face and touched her neck.  
"So breath, no pulse." he said grimly. "Looks like she was strangled." Moby now made his way through the group and knelt next to the bed to get a closer look. Brodi pointed to her face and neck. "See? Look. Her lipstick is smudged, but all in one way, like someone forced their hand over her mouth, leaving the other hand available to strangle her, see?" Brodi pointed at the handprints and bruises on her neck. Moby sighed and shook his head. Brodi also sighed and began untying her hands. "I don't know when this could have happened, must have been a while ago though, her body is already cooling."  
"Okay, enough, seriously." Marisol said in a distressed fashion. "This is scary enough, we don't need you adding to it." Nate approached the body and lifted it gently.  
"I'll put her out with Luther, someone come with me." Psymon cut Nate off.  
"We're all going. We're going to camp out in the sitting room, every single one of us. Wake up whoever is still asleep, and un-naked anyone who isn't dressed, bring a pillow and a blanket, we're going downstairs."

* * *

How creepy would THAT be? How's the crew going to get through the night? Will the murderer come at them all at once, or will this sicko find a way to separate them and keep getting them one at a time? What will happen between Kaori, Mac and Allegra? And what about Elise and Psymon? Will Psymon finally allow himself to have a woman every man would want, or will Elise simply give up? More next time.


	6. Chapter 6

EA Big owns it all, I got nothing

* * *

This chapter is dedicated to my little sister, I don't think I tell you enough how proud I am of you and how thankful I am for you. I wouldn't be where I am today without you. 

Chapter 6: Much ado about Psymon  
Psymon pushed the indeglo button on his wristwatch to check the time.  
"Only twelve eighteen? Geez." he whispered. Only him, Brodi and Moby were still awake, Moby didn't allow himself to let his guard down after his event with Psymon earlier. They sat in the dark room quietly, the lights in the surrounding hallways were all on, so they could see if anyone was coming.  
"Seems kind of stupid, doesn't it? Just sitting here, waiting for someone to kill us." Brodi said quietly, they didn't want to wake anyone. Psymon slightly chuckled at the comment, Moby said nothing, he simply sat quietly. "So what if this IS it?" Brodi asked Psymon, Psymon cocked an eye in an odd fashion.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, if we don't live to see another day, do you think your life was worth it? Do you think you left an impact in this world?" Psymon chuckled again.  
"You and your Buddhist stuff, man." Brodi stayed stone faced.  
"No, seriously. We're being faced with death, can you look back at your life and say you made something out of it?" Psymon thought about it then shrugged.  
"I don't know, I guess, I'm sure I've left an impact on some peoples' lives, whether good or bad it remains to be seen, but I think for what time I've had as me and not Stark, I've used well." Brodi smiled and nodded.  
"Cool." Psymon re-adjusted himself on the couch, being careful not to wake Zoe and Kaori, who both sat nuzzled against him like a human pillow. Brodi then spoke again. "So what's your favorite memory?" Psymon looked at Brody with confusion again and smirked.  
"I'm sorry?"  
"Your favorite memory, what is it?" Psymon tilted his head back to think.  
"I answered the last one, what's yours?" Brodi nodded and smiled in reminiscence.  
"When I was about fifteen, sixteen maybe... I was raised in the Catholic church, was cool enough but all the rules made me a wuss. As I got into my early teenage years I felt this urge to just break out, you know? When I turned fifteen or sixteen I wandered into a Buddhist temple once, just to check it out. It was like a whole new world to me. No church laws, no Catholic mandates, no manmade prerequisites that decided whether you were a good person or not, it was simply the law to love everything because everything is precious." Moby made a slight gagging sound, Brodi and Psymon looked at him with their eyes, then Brodi continued. "The more I went, the more I felt free to be myself, you know? I learned true happiness through inner peace, and I learned to hold every day precious because you never know when it could be your last. I got to be me and I was finally happy with who I was." Psymon nodded to the story thoughtfully. "So what about you?" Psymon smirked and looked down at Zoe sleeping on his side.  
"Well, it was a while ago, not entirely sure of when exactly it was because of the accident, you know..." Brodi nodded. "It was when Zoe and I were younger, she was still just a kid, I was in my late teens, this was after our parents were killed. We were having a hard time finding a permanent place to live. We were bouncing from relative to relative, they could only take us for so long because, well, Zoe and I were always a little different from the other cousins." Brodi smiled as Psymon smirked from his statement. "I guess it was when I was in my late teens... yeah I guess I was about eighteen or nineteen, Zoe had just finished her freshman year of highschool... Obviously I couldn't afford to go to college, so I was working crappy jobs wherever I could find one in order to keep us going. I remember we had a horrible little basement apartment, just a sitting room, a bedroom and a bathroom. We had to use our landlord's kitchen and I slept on a couch in the sitting room. I just remember being so discouraged because I wasn't able to give my little sister the kind of life her friends at school had, and I started to really get bummed out. Whenever I was able to work enough hours to make a decent income, I wouldn't be around to help her with her homework, make sure she ate properly, take care of her when she was sick, just little things that the other kids took for granted." Brodi listened closely and nodded along with the story, Moby even seemed to be listening but trying to appear to not be paying attention. "So in her grade ten year, I got hurt at work and had to take off a month without pay. It doesn't sound that bad, but the bills and rent add up quickly. I remember sitting there one night, thinking she had gone to bed, and I just worried. I worried that we would get kicked out of our apartment, I worried that we wouldn't be able to earn enough to eat, I was just worried about how we were going to get out of that situation. I was so worried that night I even began to cry, I was scared and angry at the same time, I felt like I was letting Zoe down. Anyways, she came out of her room and seemed to know right away what was bothering me." He looked back down at Zoe and ran his fingers through her hair on her scalp, she twitched her nose slightly in her sleep while he did so. "I remember her giving me a hug and telling me that she wasn't afraid... I thought at first she didn't understand the situation. She told me even if we did lose the apartment and had to live on the street, she wasn't afraid as long as I was there to look out for her. It was that very moment I knew we would be okay, yeah we would have our hard times, but we would always have each other. At that moment I knew my life had purpose, and I knew that I had a little sister who would love me and be proud of me no matter what." Psymon looked up at Brodi, who nodded with fascination.  
"So, that's why you put her first even now?" Psymon shrugged and raised his eyebrows.  
"When I was Stark, I missed too much of her life... far too much. For me she literally went from fifteen to twenty-three overnight. She had some rotten experiences over that time, and I wasn't there for her. The one thing I promised her I would always do, I didn't make good on. I love my little sister, and I'm going to make sure she's always in good hands, even if that means putting my own life on hold." Brodi nodded quietly.  
"Awww... That is so sweet." a tired female voice said from the corner. They looked into the corner and saw Allegra sitting alone on the floor.  
"What are you doing over there? Come over here, there's room." Allegra hesitated and then quietly walked across the room and sat next to Brodi. She tripped over Nate, who was stretched out on the floor, waking him.  
"Well." Brodi chuckled softly. "Since you two are up, why don't you guys stay on watch with me for a bit and let Psymon get some sleep?" Nate mumbled and nodded.

* * *

If you haven't read my other story "Psymon's Secret" you are likely REALLY confused right now, again, go read it and come back to this later.  
If you have already read it, I think this chapter was a nice wrap-up closure for that story. It explains a little more about the past of Psymon and Zoe and explains why it is that Psymon is maybe at times a little too over-protective of her. And no that is not a story from my own life, Psymon and Zoe are an extreme case that I bulked up for storyline reasons, there are very few similarities between those two and my sister and myself... well besides the overly-protective part ;). Keep on reading folks! 


	7. Chapter 7

EA Big owns everything and everyone I am writing about.

* * *

Chapter 7: Nate and Allegra's tales  
Psymon drifted off to sleep almost immediately, he was still very tired from his search for Kaori and his endless duty of Zoe's protector. Brodi leaned back in the couch while Allegra made herself comfortable next to him, inviting herself under his stretched arm.  
"So, what were you guys talking about?" Nate said drowsily. Brody brought him up to speed about his talk with Psymon, and then proposed they share a little as well. Allegra looked down at Griff, who slept soundly using Nate's legs as a pillow.  
"So how did you two ever hook up? You really are an odd pairing." Brodi asked Nate about his friendship with the child. Nate chuckled and looked down at Griff.  
"It just kinda happened, really. We work well together."  
"But how did you two even come to BE friends?" Allegra interrupted. Nate sat up slightly to face the shadowed people he spoke to.  
"Well, I guess I may as well start to before I joined SSX. I'm the youngest of seven, all brothers." Brodi and Allegra both made sounds of pity for Nate's mother. "Farm family, you know how it goes. Anyways, I was always the runt, being the youngest. I was the weakest, the slowest, the shortest, I was just always last in everything. By the time I was ten I wanted a little brother of my own to pick on, just so I could know how it felt. As the years passed, we did start to grow up, and my oldest brother, Tom, took over the farm when it was time for dad to retire. I was still only about thirteen but he was in his early twenties, and as he grew more into a responsible man, he began to treat me like a brother instead of a pest. He started treating me real good, and I began to really admire him. Eventually as my other brothers got older we all started getting along better, and we're all cool now, but it was Tom who first made me feel like I belonged with my brothers. He would play catch with me, he taught me how to throw a football real good, he taught me how to properly rope a calf, heh he even taught me how to throw a good punch. By the time I was in my late teens, I wanted so much to be like Tom, I wanted to be to someone what he was to me. Obviously by that time my parents were too old to think about having more kids, so I was out of luck there. After working on the farm for a few years, I joined SSX, I wanted to see the world beyond the farm. I remember I was paired up with Griff in our lodge. At first I totally resented being in with a kid, but we were both the new guys, and it was either the kid or Viggo. So he moved in, his parents came with him and lived with us for the first little while. They had to get back to their careers though and left him more or less in my hands. So when that happened I felt like a babysitter who moonlighted as a snowboarder, but the kid started to grow on me. He became like that missing little brother that I needed to have in my life. I taught him how to throw a baseball, that was a huge moment for me. Funny ain't it? Something that most of us take for granted, meaning so much to someone else. I found soon it was fun to be like a big brother. We would play videogames together, I would tell him about my old comic books when I was a kid and how the superheroes were SO much cooler back then. I'd teach him what I could, when I could, and he learned a lot from me. But it was good for me to, 'cuz ever since I've been looking out for the kid I feel like my life has meaning, ya know? I feel like I'm doing what I was meant to do, and that's give a child someone they can look up to." Nate smirked down at Griff. "I just dread when he becomes a smart-assed teenager and doesn't want to hang out with me anymore." Allegra and Brodi both had a chuckle at the comment. Allegra seemed very drawn back though throughout Nate's story.  
"So what's your story?" Brodi asked, turning to the young woman. Allegra shook her head.  
"I'd rather just let you guys talk, if that's cool." Brodi nodded thoughtfully, then after several seconds of silence he spoke again.  
"You feel guilty about earlier, don't you?" Allegra was caught off guard, but sighed and nodded.  
"What's done is done, girl, don't let it get you down." Nate offered the solution to her, but she shrugged it off.  
"No, it's not that, it's what Kaori said." The men were silent. "I know what I did was wrong, I see that now, I should have said 'no' to Mac... but you guys don't think I'm a slut do you?" Again they said nothing. The silence irritated Allegra. "Great, the one time I just have sex freely, I get busted and everyone thinks I'm a whore." Brodi cut her off.  
"It doesn't matter what we think, Allegra. But if it puts your mind at rest, that isn't what we're thinking." Allegra sighed and shook her head. "So you made a mistake, it happens. You know now what you did was wrong, and you've accepted that. You know you're not a slut, but you've also learned that even if it doesn't happen often, an action can lead to consequences. You learned something from this evening, so not all of it was bad."  
"Plus if we all die tonight, at least you'll have died satisfied." Nate joked. Brodi kicked him playfully. Allegra choked a laugh from the unexpected comment.  
"Actually." she started, "He wasn't that good." They shared a stifled laugh until Allegra's face dropped again. "But still, I screwed up Mac and Kaori's relationship. Plus Mac said if he loses Kaori from this he'll never forgive me, and I know Kaori will hate me forever, I don't want to lose those friends." Nate shook his head with a thoughtful hum. Brodi leaned forward.  
"Okay, first off, Mac is just as responsible as you are. If he loses Kaori, it's his own damn fault just as much as yours, if not moreso since he was the one cheating. Secondly, he thought Kaori was dead, he had already accepted the thought of losing her. So if he gets mad at you, then hell with him, he's just trying to convince himself it's not his fault. Mac's always been kind of shifty, don't let it bug you. Just ask yourself if he's upset that he cheated on Kaori, or if he's upset that he got caught." Allegra sighed.  
"It won't make people un-think that I'm a slut." She sank into the couch and glared at Elise's sleeping figure. "Meanwhile the girls who actually are get no trouble at all." Brodi looked at her with a slight scold.  
"Now why do you say that kind of stuff about her?" Allegra went on a silent defensive.  
"Look at her! My shirt has more fabric than her entire outfit, and she seems to have no problem at all just letting guys stare at her ass as it hangs out of that skirt, Hell we're looking at it right now." Brodi let Allegra say her bit. They all knew that Elise had been drinking quite a bit that evening and normally would be more self-aware otherwise, they knew that wasn't a justification, but they still knew it was the truth.  
"Look, Elise is Elise, just like you're you and I'm me. If she wants to let her ass be seen for all to enjoy, then that is her decision and something she will have to deal with herself if there are consequences. But her choice in wardrobe is not any business of yours, as yours is not any business of hers." Allegra rolled her eyes. "You're not a lot different, her and yourself." Now she glared at Brodi. "What? It's true. You're both very strong-willed, very self confident and very passionate about being the very best. Maybe sometimes you're both that way to a fault, but you two do possess many similarities. I think if you two were able to put aside the shallow wardrobe battles you always have and actually get to know one another, I think you two would get along very well and would make an amazing team in SSX. Don't let difference in tastes keep you from making an ally, and maybe even a friend." Allegra shrugged and looked down at Nate.  
"I don't know, I'll think about it."

* * *

So, under all of Nate's tough-guy act, there's actually a sweet, big brother type, isn't that nice? As for Allegra, will she come to grips that what's done is done with Mac? Will Mac accept that he was in the wrong and is simply a prick in general? Will Allegra be able to get over her pride and try being friends with Elise? And where the heck is the killer? Keep reading.


	8. Chapter 8

EA Big owns all the places and characters blah blah etc etc

* * *

Chapter 8: Morning revelations  
Elise opened her eyes to see the morning sun shining in through the window. She noticed that the storm had settled to a thick snowfall and sat up quickly.  
"The M-comms aren't working yet, I already tried." Eddie said, he sat awake with Allegra. Elise cursed silently and adjusted her skirt. People all started waking up as the room grew louder. Psymon woke up and groggily stumbled towards the window. The snowfall was less violent but still so thick that he could barely see a few feet out the window. The snow was piling up deep outside and most of the window was buried in snow.  
"It's not as bad, but still pretty nasty out there." he announced to the crew, Eddie also made an announcement to the SSX boarders.  
"The snowfall is still interfering with our M-comms, so we can't send messages." Suddenly a strange figure stood in the doorway of the room.  
"No, it's not that you can't send it kids, it's you won't be sending any messages." A tall Asian man held a small pistol in his right hand and slowly walked into the room, his words were cocky and taunting as well were his steps.  
"Who's this sack of crap?" Viggo said, holding his hand out towards the gunman.  
"Hiro Karamatsu." Elise said with a hint of disgust. "He used to be one of us until he got kicked out, he wasn't worth keepingaround in SSX and eventually he was released due to his lacklustre fan draws." Elise's words taunted Hiro, he raised a carefree eyebrow at her.  
"Easy to say when you've gotten to the top by being on the bottom." Hiro said with a sneer, no one spoke. Hiro panned his gun around the room and gestured for everyone to sit close to each other so that he could see everyone. J.P. stared at Hiro with disgust.  
"So it was you who killed Luther and Seeiah." he accused, Hiro shrugged.  
"Guilty as charged." His words seemed almost like he found it funny. J.P. stood up and went to move towards Hiro, but stopped when the gun clicked.  
"Why Hiro? Why are you doing this? Because you got kicked out? Why?" Hiro chuckled and motioned for J.P. to sit back down.  
"J.P. J.P. J.P.... Yes, at first I was mad at SSX for kicking me out, and I wanted to ruin a few venues here and there, but the more I thought about it and the longer I grew frustrated, destroying the entire business became my all-consuming goal." Hiro began to pace before them like a villain from a James Bond movie as he revealed his plan. "Sooooo, I waited for an opportunity to arise to eliminate all of you, which presented itself by the opening of peak three. I knew it would be only a matter of time until they kept building chalets higher and higher up this rock in order to keep you morons happy. So when I saw they built this chalet so close to the peak of the mountain, I knew I could take care of you all if I could just somehow keep you contained here for at least a day. The problem was getting all of you up here, one thing I have found out by watching you though is that most of you idiots party too hard for your own good, and could never pass up a chance to get yourselves trashed while Atomika footed the bill. So I just had to make the fake invitations and hope you were all stupid enough to not wonder why he didn't just M-comm you, thankfully you all are as stupid as I hoped. Originally I planned on jamming the network that your M-comms run on, since I am familiar with those types of networks from university, but sadly I couldn't get access to the network hub. So I had to rethink another plan and decided to study the weather patterns for the entire season, since I know your M-comms can only handle so much harsh weather. So I found the night with the worst storm and that morning trekked to the top of the mountain and set up a clock radio and hooked up some heavy-duty sub woofers to it. I set it to a techno station and knew that when the hour hit, the bass of the speakers would trigger an avalanche and hopefully wipe all of you off the patio. I also had to plan that not all of you would be outside when the avalanche hit, so I would have to sneak in, which was surprisingly easy since most of you were in a drunken stupor. So I waited in the bathroom, where poor Luther was the first to find me, we all know how that ended. The only x-factor in all of this was the idea of staying together, that presented me with a problem because I did not know how to take you all out at once with that much adrenaline rushing. So I thought maybe I could at least make things easier for me by shutting off the power. I hoped that you guys would either go crazy and turn on each other, freeze to death, or foolishly separate and let me get you one at a time. I must give Mr. Logan here credit for getting the power up and running, well done Nate." Hiro patted Nate on the head like a child while he walked by. "As the night passed, you all know that I disposed of Seeiah, thank you whoever was supposed to be her room mate." Hiro continued to pace with arrogance before them. "I was tempted to come and waste you all while you slept here, but you even thought to keep some people keeping watch, which would have blown my element of surprise. So I hid again in the nearest washroom, which none of you came to. As I realized the morning was coming, I knew there was a chance that the storm could ease up, fortunately it hasn't done so too severely. So, running out of time I decided to let you know who's been playing this game with you and I decided to dispose of you all at once and with a little bit of dignity, not that any of you deserve it." Hiro took a few steps back from them and looked at them all. "So, here you all are, powerless to stop the inevitable." Eddie looked at Hiro with narrow eyes.  
"And then what, Hiro? You commit mass genocide and you will be hunted like an animal. Where will you go? How will you get there? Have you even thought that far ahead?" Hiro put his pointer finger in the air and scolded Eddie.  
"Ooooh no, I've seen enough movies to know not to reveal ALL of my plan, no matter how close I am to winning." Hiro cocked the pistol. "So, who's first?" The group was terrified as Hiro stared at them with his pistol up. Griff buried his face into Nate's arm, hoping this wasn't true. Suddenly J.P. sprang up and jumped at Hiro.  
"You sick son of a-" J.P. was interrupted as Hiro's gun fired into his chest. J.P. dropped and gasped for air as he clenched the right side of his chest.  
"Anyone else want to be a hero?" Psymon glared at Hiro. He held Zoe behind him and covered her like a human shield, he had his right hand reached behind him as his sister squeezed it tightly out of terror. Hiro looked down at Griff with a sick smile, then a frightening voice spoke to Psymon.

* * *

So it was Hiro!... and most of you are saying "who the hell is Hiro?" Well, since that's the case can you BLAME the guy for going nuts and killing people? What will happen next? Will J.P. survive? Will Hiro succeed in his sick plan or will the crew take him down? And I think we all know where I'm going with Psymon. All these answers and more, next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

EA BIG owners of everything. Me broke

* * *

Chapter 9: Resurfed rage  
Psymon was startled as the violent voice spoke to him.  
"You're not going to let him do this, are you?" The voice was raspy and venomous, he felt like a monster was speaking to him.  
"Leave me alone, Stark. You're not wanted here." Psymon spoke inside his head, Stark hissed back.  
"Damn it, Morgan! You've decided to care about these people, so do something! Be a man! Hell with the brat and the others, but I know you won't let him hurt little sister!"  
"Stark, I swear to God, if you don't get out of my head-"  
"What Simon? What if I don't get out of your head? You are going to die here a sniveling weakling. If you won't stop him... then I will."  
"No Psymon, I'm stronger than you. I've been fighting you back since I woke up and I will not give in to you now." Psymon's eye twitched violently.  
"Think what you want, Morgan. We both know that I have the guts to attack him, face it Morgan, you need me right now."  
"No." Psymon's eye calmed. Kaori now also clenched Psymon's shoulder and peeked out from behind him with terrified eyes while her other hand squeezed Zoe's free hand. "I will not give in to you. If this guy tries to hurt Zoe then it will be over my dead body."  
"And he's ready to do that, Morgan! And... oh man you're friends with Kaori now?!? Oh for... Damn it do this for Zoe! She may be your sister, but you know I loved her!"  
"I didn't know you could love, you freak."  
"You would be surprised, I'm more complex than these sheep told you I was. I wasn't just a nutcase, but I was crazy... I was crazy for Zoe damn it. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is? Loving someone who can't love you back because you're trapped in her brother's body?"  
"Stark, you are one sick pup."  
"Damn it Morgan, if you ever do anything meaningful, do it now. We both love Zoe in our own ways... we can protect her together." Psymon thought hard as Hiro kept the gun pointed at Griff, waiting for the youngster to finally look up to accept his fate. "Morgan... I'll give you my strength, you'll need it. Save Zoe, save her and I swear you will never hear from me again unless you invite me back... I swear."  
"What's in it for you?"  
"... Knowing that Zoe is safe is fine enough... knowing the woman I love is protected will keep me happy." Psymon paused and still spoke inside his head.  
"... Okay Stark, it's a deal... and thank you... I was wrong about you." Psymon suddenly felt a change inside of him. He felt his muscles tense up and tighten. He felt a rage begin to boil inside of him so severe that his hands and feet shook. His eyes grew large and shone with intensity and his lips quivered in a hate-fueled fury. Then suddenly he vaulted himself from the couch he sat on. He screamed sadistically as he flew through the air towards Hiro. The shocked Hiro fired a shot but only hit Psymon's arm and the shot didn't even phase him. He grabbed Hiro's hand with the gun and thrust it up towards the ceiling, keeping the gun from facing anyone else. Psymon grabbed Hiro's throat roughly and began to squeeze mercilessly, his eyes twitched and shone with anger.  
"You're on your own now Morgan, you have to do this. Goodbye Morgan... take care of Zoe for me." Psymon felt his body grow less rabid, but he still kept Hiro where he wanted him. The other boarders seized the opportunity and got out of the room as fast as they could. Then Psymon felt another strange sensation overwhelm him. He felt his own anger finally surface. He shouted as he heaved Hiro against the nearest wall, the impact shook the entire room. Psymon's grip on Hiro's gun hand was so tight that Hiro's hand began to turn purple, Psymon still did not let up. He held on tight to Hiro's one hand while throwing Hiro around and pulling him back in for more. He felt the rage he never let surface when his parents were killed by the drunk driver that stole them from him. He invisioned the face of the man that at the time he was too young to do anything to. Hiro screamed in pain as Psymon was relentless in his attack. Psymon then saw the faces of every man that ever harmed Zoe, including Moby. He was nearly foaming at the mouth and his bullet wound poured blood but his rage would not be pacified. Psymon slammed Hiro's head through the screen of the television and yanked him back out immediately as dust and sparks coughed out of the broken screen. Hiro's eyes were glazed over and he could barely stand as Psymon again slammed Hiro into a wall, this time face-first. Hiro collapsed to the ground, but Psymon, who's hand still firmly held Hiro's gun hand, kept pulling him up roughly. Psymon fought the gun out of Hiro's hands and wrestled with him until a loud pop deafened everyone who was still in the room. Hiro's eyes dilated as his body started to go limp, he fell towards Psymon and the collision turned Psymon slightly. A second pop shot and another bullet flew into Hiro. Psymon looked up and saw Moby standing in the doorway with his pistol from the night before. Psymon's rage quelled quickly, then he realized what he had done, how he had just acted. Zoe came towards him and he quickly moved away.  
"Don't come near me yet Zoe!" Psymon's voice sounded scared, like he was in a state of shock that his own rage was so primal. Zoe was not afraid, the doctors told her when he woke up, no longer as stark, that someday all his anger would come out, she was just glad it decided to surface when it had. Psymon grabbed his arm and grimaced through the pain. Brodi ran to J.P. to tend to his wounds. Psymon collapsed on the floor next to Hiro's body. Zoe ran to him and held his head.  
"Psymon! Speak to me!" Psymon opened his eyes and looked at Zoe. He understood now. He understood now why Stark protected Zoe for him in his absence. He understood why Stark kept his little sister safe from harm when he owed them nothing, and he quietly thanked Stark for it. He still trembled as his anger simmered and cooled down, and as it did he felt strangely at peace, like a huge weight had been taken off of his shoulders.Zoe led her brother to the closest couch and laid him down.  
"Zoe... I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me." Zoe put her finger over his mouth to quiet him.  
"Psymon, don't be sorry... it's okay to be angry... The reason Stark even existed was because of all that pent-up anger... it's okay to let it out, just please don't do it like that again." They both laughed with a little relief. She took the sleeve from her jacket and wrapped it tightly around the wound. J.P. had stopped sputtering on the floor and laid peacefully. Brodi closed his eyes and let a tear fall.  
"I.... I couldn't save him..." Brodi punched the hardwood floor and wept. "Damn it... I couldn't save him... I'm sorry guys." Nate put his hand on Brodi's shoulder and comforted him.  
"There was nothing you could do. He died a hero's death, I'll make sure everyone finds out." Griff still screeched in the next room as Allegra tried to calm him and assure him that everything was okay now. "Poor kid's gonna be traumatized from this." Nate said sadly, everyone in the room agreed. Kaori helped Zoe put pressure on Psymon's arm to control the bleeding.  
"We have to get him help." Zoe said with a sound of panic in her voice.  
"The M-comms are still down." Eddie said as he tried the M-comm yet again. Zoe thought wildly.  
"Okay, Hiro had a way out of here, he had to. Look outside for a snowmobile or something." Most of the group ran in separate directions to look for a means of transportation both indoors and out. Psymon closed his eyes and relaxed, Zoe and Kaori both shook him. "You keep those eyes open damn you!" Zoe scolded with a choke in her voice, he weakly nodded. Kaori also shook him to keep him awake.  
"You didn't give up on me, and I'm sure as heck not going to give up on you. We're going to pull through this, together." Psymon took his eyes off Zoe and looked at Kaori as she spoke. He never realized how beautiful Kaori was until now. He thought to himself how Mac could be so stupid to let her go. He then reminded himself of his promise to put Zoe first, and let his thoughts go.

* * *

Well, Hiro didn't last long. It's okay, no one likes him anyways (now I'm going to get nasty letters from Hiro enthusiasts). Yes I realize maybe I went a little overboard on Psymon's ass-kicking of Hiro, but as the doc said in Psymon's Secret, one day his anger would have to come out... anyways next time I do a fight scene I promise not to listen to Papa Roach while writing it haha. And poor poor J.P., that brings Hiro's body-count to three, will Psymon be the fourth? Read on. 


	10. Chapter 10

EA Big owns the characters and places blah blah blah, I got nothing

* * *

Chapter 10: Racing for keeps  
Nate ran back inside with a snowboard over his shoulder. It had Japanese characters written on it and Hiro's portrait on the top.  
"He must have planned to use this as his getaway." Nate said quickly as he dropped it onto the floor. Zoe looked at the other boarders desperately.  
"Someone has to get down to the main lodge and tell Atomika what happened, and bring help up here." Everyone looked at one another.  
"I'd go." Elise spoke up. "But in this outfit I would freeze before I even reached peak two." Most of the boarders agreed.  
"Crap, why is it that the one with the best peak three time is the one that needs saving?" Viggo said, appearing to be considering going. Zoe got up and picked up the board.  
"Fine, I'll go. I'm not going to have my brother die because you guys couldn't decide on-"  
"Zoe, stay." Kaori urged, looking at Zoe as if to say she should stick around in case he didn't pull through. She returned to applying pressure under his elbow, where the bullet entered before it lodged itself somewhere in his bicep. Marisol looked at Moby and whispered to him.  
"Baby, why don't you go? You have the second best time." Moby sneered and walked out of the room.  
"Not my problem, love." Zoe was visibly getting frantic.  
"I'll go." Griff said quietly, stepping out of the group. Nate and Allegra quickly knelt on either side of him.  
"Griff it's too dangerous out there for you."  
"I can do it, Nate." Griff said. Allegra also spoke up.  
"Griff, it's not like when we race out there, it's very dangerous, you're better off staying here."  
"And watching Psymon die? Screw that!" Griff shouted at them, causing them both to lean back in shock. "I can handle it, why won't you believe me?" No one spoke until Psymon weakly choked.  
"Go for it Griff." Griff looked up and made eye contact with Psymon, who's eyes were glazing over. Griff's childish demeanor momentarily phased out, and a serious look crossed his face as he nodded at Psymon.  
"I won't let you down, Psymon!" Griff quickly resized the strap on the board to fit his feet, Psymon smiled weakly as he reached out to ruffle Griff's hair.  
"I know you won't." The boarders quickly bundled Griff up to survive the biting cold and led him to the window upstairs where he would begin his descent. "Be safe kid!" Psymon managed to shout as they led him up. Zoe hushed him and tried to make him rest.  
  
Griff took a deep breath and nodded to Nate and Brodi. They each took an arm and heaved him down the mountainside like a human slingshot. He veered hard to the right, remembering Psymon mentioning a chasm the night before that was the other way. Griff leaned low on the board and held Nate's sunglasses in place to protect his eyes since he had no goggles. He zoomed down the mountain, nearly wiping out occasionally but forcing himself to keep control... Psymon's life depended on it. He kept telling himself he wouldn't let Psymon down, Psymon said he believed in him and he was going to make sure Psymon's certainty would not go in vein. Within minutes he was near the base of peak three and nearing the summit of peak two. He debated with himself but decided to try the shortcut through the woods, though it was dangerous, it would easily take three or four minutes off his time if he got through smoothly. He rocketed along the side of peak two until he came to the end of the fresh snow and found the familiar tracks that he raced so many times. He felt even more confident now that he was on familiar terrain. He kept flying down the mountain until a loud beep startled him, causing him to wipe out. He rolled quickly down the hill for several feet, yardsaling the entire way. As his M-comm flew out of his pocket he realized that was what had beeped. He managed to stop himself and unbuckle his boots from the board. He ran back up the hill and scooped up his M-comm.  
"I'm in range..." he said with astonishment. "I'm in range!" His voice perked with excitement and he quickly opened the incoming message. It was about the fiftieth from Atomika, stating "Where the hell are you guys?" Griff quickly typed in a response to Atomika.  
"Griff?! Where are you? You are in big trouble!"  
"I can't explain Atomika, there's no time. Everyone is at the summit chalet on peak three. Luther, Seeiah and J.P. are all dead and Psymon's been shot! Some guy named Hiro, they need help!" Griff waited as his M-comm flashed back to life.  
"WTF?! Hiro? What happened Griff, are you okay?"  
"I'm alright, I'm halfway down peak two. I can make the rest of the way down, send a helicopter to the summit chalet as fast as you can, I don't know how long Psymon can hold on. I'll explain everything else later." Atomika hesitated a reply until the screen lit up again.  
"This better not be a tall tale, Griff."  
"It's not! Now send help! Please!" Atomika didn't send another reply. Griff ran back down to the board and strapped his boots back in. By the time he was done he saw a snow patrol helicopter fly by overhead towards peak three. Griff smiled ear to ear as the rescuers flew up the mountain.  
"Hold on, Psymon, help is on the way."

* * *

Good old Griff came through. Shows that anyone can accomplish something when someone believes in them. What will happen next? Will the paramedics make it in time? Will Stark keep his promise to stay away? Read on


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry everyone for taking so long to update, my computer became demon-possessed and I just got it back today... no I'm serious... Lucifer himself climbed out of Hell and camped out in my PC, it was frightening to say the least. K, enough of that, time for this show to get back on the road.

* * *

I do not own anything, EA Big owns it all

* * *

Chapter 11: Confessions and Sacrifices  
Zoe and Kaori both squeezed tightly on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding as much as possible.  
"Zoe." a too familiar voice whispered, making her jump.  
"Stark?" she said, feeling uneasy but still applying the pressure. Kaori now backed up but kept her hands also applying pressure.  
"Yeah... it's me." Zoe looked angrily at Psymon.  
"Where's my brother, Stark? What have you done?"  
"You're brother's dying, Zoe. I can feel him weakening." Zoe shook her head and tried not to cry. She tightened her lips to fight back any sound that may have come out. "Zoe... everything will be okay, I'm here now... I'll take care of you."  
"No Stark!" Zoe shouted. No one but them and Kaori were in the room. The others were all still upstairs, or on the roof waiting to flag down a helicopter. "For God's sake Stark, you kept my brother from me before, I won't let you do it again."  
"And what can YOU do, Zoe? How are you going to stop me? I can feel him, Zoe. I can feel him dying. Can you stop him from dying, Zoe? I don't think so." Stark glared up at her with a cocky smirk. "I'm back, sweetheart." Zoe clenched her teeth and released Psymon's arm. Kaori looked around in confusion, still applying the pressure to Psymon's arm.  
"You don't get it, do you Stark?" Zoe said with a raging anger in her voice. "If Simon dies, you die to. My brother is a real human being Stark, you're nothing more than a manifestation of emotions he never let out... you're not real... Like it or not you rely on him, you need him. You can not exist without him." Stark paused and looked worried, it appeared he had not taken that into consideration. "Stark, it hurt me to lose you as a friend, it honestly did. But now I'm going to lose a friend AND a brother, please... if he's going to die, let me talk to my brother one last time." Stark's lip quivered, he looked confused and shocked. He then turned serious, he did not twitch, he did not quiver, he just looked up at her seriously.  
"You love him that much?" Stark asked quietly, Zoe nodded.  
"Stark, you may have been my best friend, but he's my brother. I love him."  
"But... but I love you, Zoe." Zoe looked uncomfortable.  
"Stark we went through this, you may not be my brother, but you are still in his body... I can never love you in that way." Stark nodded sadly, a small tear formed in the corner of his eye.  
"Alright, Zoe, you win. Just... years from now when you're married, maybe have a child... please remember the man whose heart you stole." Zoe tried to fight the tears as Psymon laid down motionless. He closed his eyes and smirked, then went limp. Kaori shook his arm and shook his chest. Zoe quickly got next to Psymon and also shook him.  
"Psymon..." she trailed off as her anxiety climaxed. Psymon weakly opened his eyes and met Zoe's.  
"Stark..." Psymon said weakly. "He told me... he told me to never leave you." Psymon smiled and lifted an open hand to her cheek. He gently touched her cheek and slid his fingertips along the back of her ear. He felt a sensation of release flow through him like he had been freed from a giant clenched fist. Zoe noticed his eyes suddenly grew brighter and his breathing grew a little stronger. "He's gone, Zoe." Zoe took his hand in hers and held his warm palm against her cheek. "He gave up. He stopped fighting." Psymon looked confused as he spoke. Kaori tried to remain calm but was clearly shaken by what just happened. Zoe looked at her and smiled. She knew Stark had terrorized Kaori in the past.  
"He won't bother you anymore, Kaori, you don't have to be afraid. Our Psymon is back to stay." Kaori smiled and seemed relieved. Soon a loud thumping of a helicopter resonated over the chalet. Zoe smiled and looked up at the ceiling. "Good work Griff." She said loudly as they heard Nate on the roof screaming up to the helicopter pilot.

* * *

Stark is gone? I KNOW I'm going to get a lot of angry letters about that. But I felt I did him justice, agreeing to lay down his life so that the woman he loved would still be protected and happily with her brother... you're not buying this are you? Crap. Anyways, the finale is next, keep reading. 


	12. Chapter 12

EA Big owns it all, not me, so stop looking at me like that

* * *

Chapter 12: Trying to go back to the way things were  
Psymon opened his eyes to a familiar room at a nearby hospital. His eyes focused and he realized he was laying in the same room he was in when he woke up after the accident that brought him back as Morgan. He sat up and felt a sting in his arm. He saw the long gauss pads that wrapped his forearm and bicep and he gently slid them off. He ran his finger along the stitches that led from his elbow to his bicep, where they removed the bullet.  
"That's going to be one hell of a scar." he thought to himself. He sat up and quickly removed the hospital gown from his body and put his jeans on. He saw Zoe sitting in an armchair by the window, sound asleep. He laughed lightly to himself and walked over to her. He leaned forward and put his healthy arm around her and placed his nose into her hair. "Wakey wakey." he said gently. She grumbled and woke up. As soon as her eyes focused on him she pulled him in and hugged him tightly.  
"Scare me like that again and I'll kick your ass." Psymon chuckled as Zoe let out a relieved sigh.  
  
Several hours later, after the doctors allowed it, they left the hospital and returned to their lodge at the base of peak one. Psymon slowly got out of the passenger side of the car and fidgeted with the sling they put his arm in.  
"Honestly, I don't need this." he said to his little sister, who was just happy that her brother was alright. They only traveled a few steps when the other lodges opened up and the residents came to welcome Psymon home. Griff ran through the SSX superstars and stopped at Psymon.  
"I did it! I told you I wouldn't let you down!" Psymon knelt down on one knee and held out his arm for a high five. Atomika approached Psymon, looking down at the ground.  
"Psymon, I heard everything that happened." Psymon prepared himself to get reamed out. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what happened to you and the others. I should have made the effort to contact you sooner before the storm."  
"Atomika, man you didn't know. You have nothing to apologize for." Atomika sighed and nodded.  
"The others tell me that you were a real hero up there." Psymon smirked and shook his head.  
"We all did what we had to do, that's all. I'm no more heroic than anyone else here. If anyone was a hero it was J.P., Nate and Brodi. They got the power back on, they kept cool heads when no one else could... J.P. sacrificed himself to try and save us... they're really the ones who stepped up. Griff's a hero, he faced the mountain when no one else would. Zoe is a hero, Atomika, she was the cool head when one was needed, not to mention her and Kaori kept me from bleeding to death. I'm no hero, Atomika." Atomika's eye motioned towards Kaori, who stood a few feet away.  
"There are some who would argue that. Go inside, get some rest." Atomika faced the other boarders. "That goes for all of you, I want everyone inside and staying there by nine this evening, you all need your rest."  
  
It was a quiet day, also very cloudy. The sky was grey with heavy rain clouds that began to cry on Big mountain late that afternoon. The boarders had just returned to the mountain after the funerals for Luther, Seeiah and J.P. They were not notified of when Hiro's family would have a funeral for him, but most of them were fine with that. Psymon held the umbrella up to keep Zoe from getting wet. He opened the door to the pub for her and motioned her in. He noticed Moby slowly walking towards the pub also. He told Zoe he would be right with her. Psymon removed the black tie that accompanied his solid black suit as he walked towards Moby. The rain grew heavier and soon both men stood soaking wet in their suits. Both men stood head to toe in black, the grey skies and wet, grey snow made the scene one that was absent of colour.  
"Moby... look." Psymon began, Moby stared through dark black sunglasses. "About that night, when we were out in the blizzard... water under the bridge man. I just... I just wanted to say thank you for helping me with Hiro." Moby still stared at Psymon with a stone face.  
"Water under the bridge nothing." Moby scowled back. "This ain't over between us, and won't be for a very, very long time. I'm not giving up until I either put you on a stretcher and out of SSX for good, or you do the same to me." Psymon looked confused.  
"But, the other morning with Hiro-" Moby stepped into Psymon's face.  
"Don't read too much into it, mate... that second bullet wasn't meant for 'iro." Psymon removed the sling and dropped it to the wet ground, letting his arm fall to his side, ready for a fight.  
"Psymon?" They both turned to see Zoe standing in the door of the pub. Psymon looked back at Moby and put his nose millimeters from Moby's.  
"Another day, Moby. We'll finish this on the mountain, but another day." Psymon said, then walked towards the pub. Moby nodded and walked the opposite direction.  
  
Psymon removed his wet suit jacket and hung it on a peg in the wall. He untucked his shirt as he walked towards his table. He sat at a round table with Zoe, Allegra and Brodi. There was silence hanging over the table, maybe out of respect for the passing of their friends, maybe it was still shock settling in that they were gone, they never discussed it again afterwards. They all sat quietly and stared into their drinks for several minutes. Brodi looked up at them and sighed. He raised his glass to the other boarders. They paused, then lifted their glasses also.  
"To Luther, Seeiah and J.P., may they be at peace, wherever their spirits are resting." They gently connected glasses and drank a toast to their departed friends. The pub was quiet that day. The bar staff decided not to play music deafeningly loud like they usually did, and allowed the boarders to pay their respects. Psymon saw Kaori come into the bar. She wore a beautiful black Japanese dress and wore her hair modestly, something she wasn't known for doing. It wasn't styled obscurely or dyed a bright colour, it just hung at her shoulders as its natural dark brown. Mac was not far behind, pleading with her to talk to him. Allegra nodded to the group at her table and got up and left the pub. Kaori finally turned around and told Mac to get away from her and that she was through with him. Mac shook his head angrily and mouthed something at her as he walked away. Psymon looked back at Zoe, who smiled and shook her head.  
"Psymon, it's okay." Psymon blushed slightly and looked back up at Kaori with his eyes. Zoe lightly punched her brother in the arm and stood up, Psymon's eyes grew momentarily as the quick sting shot up his arm from the stitches. He shot her a mischievous smile and playfully shook his fist at her.  
"I'll be back at the lodge, I'll see you there." Brodi got up to.  
"I'll walk you, if that's okay." Brodi looked at Psymon. He looked a little shocked, but then smiled and motioned for them to go. He watched his sister leave with Brodi and stared back down at the table. He looked up with his eyes and saw Elise walking towards his table, a slight stagger in her walk. She sat down across from him and giggled. She had clearly had too much to drink, again.  
"Psymon, look, here's the deal." She began, giggling slightly as she spoke. "I really, really like you. I've made it clear to you that you can have me whenever you want, so what do you say? We can go back to my private lodge, where no one else can see or hear us, we can slip into something a little more comfortable and, well, we can think of something." Psymon sighed and looked at Elise.  
"Elise, you're drunk." The blonde giggled again like a child.  
"So? Now is prime time then!" Psymon tried to think of something to say without sounding too demeaning. Suddenly Kaori showed up at the table and seemed very nervous.  
"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything here, but I need to do this before I get too scared, or someone else does this before I can." She looked quickly at Elise, then faced Psymon and placed her hands on his left hand.  
"Psymon, would you like to go see a movie sometime? Like maybe tomorrow, or something?" Psymon smirked and looked at Kaori's eyes, he couldn't believe he never realized how beautiful they were before.  
"Kaori, I would love to go out to a movie with you tomorrow night." Kaori's eyes lit up as Psymon stood and extended his arm to her, leaving Elise dumbstruck. Elise shook her head and mouthed some insults at Kaori's back as they walked away. Allegra came back to the table and sat down with Elise.  
"Men." Allegra started, Elise nodded.  
"Tell me about it." There were a few minutes of silence, then Allegra spoke up.  
"Look, maybe once you sober up a bit, maybe we can go shopping or something?.. I could always use some fashion advice, I guess." Elise raised her eyebrows at Allegra.  
"Are you for real?" Elise didn't seem amused. Allegra paused, then nodded.  
"Yeah, I've always been a bit of a tomboy when it comes to clothes, maybe it's time I try something new, who knows I may even enjoy it." Elise smiled and nodded.  
"Okay. I know a store that would have the CUTEST outfits for you. Plus we have to do something with that hair of yours, and the boxer shorts with the skirt thing? Please, very unattractive, we'll fix that for you and then we..."  
  
Psymon held out his jacket over Kaori like an umbrella as he walked her to her lodge. She pushed herself tight against him under his arm and took the liberty to put her arm around his waist.  
"Well, here we are." Psymon said, trying not to keep things awkward. "So, did you really mean what you said in there, or was that just you saving me from Elise?" Kaori looked nervous and smiled with an embarrassed look.  
"Look, I know I just broke up with Mac. And the whole nightmare at the chalet up the mountain and-" Psymon placed his finger on her lips.  
"Life will go on. It will be hard to adjust to life without some of our friends here, and how some relationships have been changed, but life will go on. Now that I've given the little pep talk, yes, or no?" Psymon went from serious to friendly immediately. Kaori smiled sheepishly again and nodded. "Alright then, I'll pick you up tomorrow night at seven." Kaori couldn't stop smiling as she nodded.  
"Look, if it's all the same to you... I really liked snuggling with you when I slept on the couch that night... Would it be okay if we maybe just hang out here, rent a movie and maybe cuddle up for the night?" Psymon smirked and led a stray lock of hair out of her face.  
"On one condition." he said calmly as he rested the lock of hair behind her ear. Kaori looked a little concerned, she remembered what "one condition" meant with Mac. Psymon slowly glided his fingertips along her jawline as he pulled his hand back from her ear. "We can stay in all night, but you have to sing for me at least once." Kaori's eyes were electric and she nodded quickly with an excited smile. Psymon fought all common sense and leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Then I'll see you tomorrow night."  
  
It was strange to Psymon. Only forty-eight hours ago Kaori didn't trust him at all, now she trusted him with her life. Only forty-eight hours ago, three of his fellow boarders were alive, and now he would never see them again. Only forty-eight hours ago he wouldn't allow himself to even think of dating a girl out of fear of abandoning his sister. And, only forty-eight hours ago he was still struggling with the skeleton in his closet, Psymon Stark. He reflected about the events that happened just two days ago and realized how lucky he was. He had friends that cared for him, he had a little sister that loved him dearly, and now for the first time in years he had a woman in his life on a romantic level. As Simon Morgan stood in the rain that night and stared up at the cloudy summit of peak three, he realized something else. He realized that no matter how invincible he thought he and his friends were, that life could end in a second. He realized that he only had so much time on this world, and now knew he had to live every day to the fullest. He knew he had to leave his mark. He thought back to his conversation with Brodi that night while they stood watch, and nodded quietly. He knew life was too short not to make an impact, he was being given another chance to do something with his life and he swore to himself and his departed friends that he would. He stared up at the clouds, knowing that the chalet was somewhere up there. He gave a respectful friendly salute to the peak, remembering his departed friends. Life would go on for the SSX boarders, maybe it would take longer for some than others, maybe some of them would rather never go back to peak three, but life would move on. The boarders all learned something from those hellish two days atop peak three. They learned to cherish the good times, remember the friends they made along the way, and to live life to the fullest.

* * *

There it is. Kind of a weird ending, I know. I guess I'm in "motivational speaker" mode today or something I don't know. I hope you all liked it and I apologize if I bumped off anyone's favorite characters. Thanks for reading. 


End file.
